Thank you for your kind comments, taggie.

The hotel has a cat. The cat doesn't belong to the hotel. The hotel belongs to the cat. You'll know exactly what I mean when you lodge there.

Mykonos cats seem to be reasonably well cared for although I think it is more difficult for them in wintertime. There are few tourists at that time of year so not so much food available.

That said, there is a local charity on the island that cares for strays so hopefully they keep them fed and healthy during the winter months.

I hope you have an enjoyable and succesful trip to Greece.

bill

I'm a volunteer at our local shelter so I hear you! I was in Greece many years ago and was very bothered by the stray cats..they would literally jump up on the tables around us when diners were finished to clean up the plates. My biggest mistake was in feeding the feral cats. One night on the way home from a restaurant I saved some food from my dinner and tried to give it to one of the strays..at least another 6-8 came out of nowhere and they fought over it. It was awful. When I travel I usually run into at least one stray cat on the properties we stay at. I always leave several boxes of catfood in the kitchen when I leave with a note asking the next guests to do the same. It just makes me feel better. I have also inquired about sending $$ to villa owners if they will look after the strays around their area but they have declined. Perhaps leaving a donation at a local shelter will help ease your pain.

Taggie,

I've been a regular visitor to Greece for about 20 years now and can't remember seeing any stray dogs on any of my visits there (although my memory's not what it was!)

Cats are a different story. But even though you'll come across them everywhere, IME you will rarely see one that looks unhealthy or badly done to. If you want to see some examples of them, take a look at my page at

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/4eaf2/#TL

These are just some of the many cats I've befriended during my 11 visits to the island of Paxos. The cat lying in the front of the second photo was a regular visitor to our cottage for 4 years running (and she wasn't exactly a kitten when I first met her). As you can imagine, I was heartbroken when she didn't show up the 5th year we stayed in the same cottage, but I'm certain she had a good life and I've got plenty of photos of her to cherish.

=:)